Concrete filled grating



Feb. 14, 1939.

w. E. IRVING CONCRETE FILLED GRAT I NG Filed March 23, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR %//e/- A. fry #7 ATTORNEY Feb. 14, 1939. w. E IRVING V ,14

CONCRETE FILLED GRATING Filed March 23 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i Em .l Ela. v u INVENTOR Patented Feb. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

This invention relates generally to the formation of highway road surfaces, building fioors and bridge decking, and more specifically relates to structures of that type in which a self-supporting metal grating composed of flat strips each set on edge and all rigidly fastened together at points of contact constitutes the supporting element, but the grating meshes are filled with concrete or other initially plastic masses to render the upper surface imperforate.

In structures of this kind heretofore employed more or less elaborate means have usually been resorted to for preventing portions of the concrete filling breaking away from the side surfaces of the metal strips under shock or from expansion and/or contraction and dropping out of the grating. Unless some extra feature is added to the simple grating skeleton the only positive keying of the concrete masses in the grating meshes is that afforded by the rivet heads and ends, which are insufiicient,-and in the case of welded gratings even they are lacking.

The object of the present invention, therefore, is to supply a simple, inexpensive system of anchors which may be easily inserted through holes in some or all of thin fiat bars forming a given grating after it has been installed on the job, but before the concrete has been poured. After the concrete sets all masses thereof are thus anchored and firmly held in their positions in or below the meshes of the grating so equipped.

The best form of apparatus at present known to me embodying my invention and some slight modifications thereof are shown in the accom panying two sheets of drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a fragment of grating with anchors of my invention installed therein, some of the latter being shown as encased in a concrete filling.

Fig. 2 is a vertical Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view on an enlarged scale of a single grating mesh with an anchor installed therein, and

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Figs. 5, 6 and 6a are similar views showing a modified form of anchor.

Figs. 7 and 8 show another form of anchors and straight reinforcing rods supported thereby.

Figs. ,9 and 10 show anchors of a third form also supporting straight rods for reinforcing the concrete.

Throughout the drawings like reference characters indicate like parts.

cross section on line 2-2 of the strips and/or relatively Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, a common form of grating is there shown composed of the straight bearing bars I, I arranged in parallel relation one to another with the crimped strips 2, 2 of less depth located between them and fastened thereto at all points of contact therewith by rivets 3, 3. All said straight bars have holes 4, 4 (best shown in Fig. 4) punched therethrough at points intermediate of the rivet holes and preferably in line with the latter transversely of the grating. Concrete anchors, or keying members, indicated generally in full lines at 5, 5 are shown supported from carrying bars I, I, each having straight end portions 6, 6 extending substantially in line one with another and connected together by an inverted U-shaped section 1 which passes through one of said holes 4, 4 and thus supports the anchor in the desired position as shown. These parts are so proportioned that all points on end anchors 5, 5 are within the zone bounded by planes in which the upper and lower edges of bars I, I lie. Consequently when that space is filled with wet concrete or other plastic mass (in the usual way) which is thereafter allowed to set, said anchors will be hidden in such hardened masses. 8 and Ill and will firmly tie them to the grating. The whole metal skeleton so produced forms a reinforcement for the concrete. Also, the upper edges of bars I and and strips 2 form an armoring for the upper, wearing surface of the concrete pavement or bridge decking so produced.

It may be noted that the masses of concrete 8, 8 forming the lower sections of the concrete filling extend continuously from end to end of each grating panel, since the narrower, bent strips 2, 2 do not extend down into such lower sections. The fact that the horizontally \extending portions 6, 6 of the anchors are em bedded in these lower, long masses is helpful since the later cooperate in supporting the upper, smaller, separated masses I I], I severally lying in the grating meshes. Moreover, these long, lower, unit layers of concrete can expand and contract without any restriction by the grating meshes above them.

Sills on which the bridge decking so formed may be supported by reason of the lower edges of bars I, l resting thereon, are indicated at 9, 9 in Fig. 1.

The preferred method of installing anchors 5, is indicated in broken lines in Fig. 4. When these anchors are made in the factory each is formed with a right-angled bend at the middle so that it can easily be inserted in one of the holes 4, 4 after the grating is in position on the job. Thereafter squeezing pressure from a special tool, a longitudinal section of the lower end of which is indicated at X in broken lines in Fig. 4, will quickly and firmly pinch the bight of each anchor into the U-shaped outline there shown in full lines, and the anchors will then and thereby be firmly held in the desired positions shown in Fig. 2.

In the modification shown in Figs. 5 to 6a. the anchors l5 are made in two parts each having a straight section 16, and an upwardly extending hook-shaped portion l'l adapted to be inserted in an elongated slot M (or big enough round hole) punched in each straight bar H to receive them.

In the modification shown in Figs. '7 and 8 the anchors 25 are each bent at right angles at the middle as shown at 21' and have their ends 26, 26 formed into hooks in which long reinforcing rods 28 may be supported. These hooks and rods supported therein will be embedded in the lower, longitudinally continuous masses of concrete such as marked 8, 8 in Fig. 2.

In the modification shown in Figs. 9 and 10 reinforcing rods are also shown at 38, 38, but they are supported by individual, hook-shaped anchors 3E, 35 which are separately hung in holes 3 1, 34 punched in the crimped strips 32, 32 instead of in the straight bars.

In all modifications nearly the entire portion of each anchoring and reinforcing structure is embedded in the lower, long panels 8, 8 of the concrete, thus strengthening such panels and enabling them to more rigidly support the isolated, smaller concrete sections 10, Ill, each of which latter is pocketed in a grating mesh and, together with the upper edges of the grating bars and strips, form. the surface of the roadway.

The invention adds but little to the cost of the bare grating as now made both for open mesh and concrete-filled floors and decking. All forms of anchors here shown can be cheaply made in quantity in the plant and shipped to the job in barrels. Ihe long rods marked 28 or 38 are standard products. The extra holes 4 and 34 can be punched in the same operation as that in which standardized rivet holes are punched, and the slots Id (if required) can be made with a special punch installed in one of the same punch presses. The anchors and rods can be quickly installed with unskilled labor on the job and the final setting of anchors 5, 5 as indicated in Fig. l can similarly be done with tool X and a sledge hammer.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A self-supporting grating composed of a plurality of flat metal strips set on edge and rigidly fastened together at all points of contact one with another and certain of them having perforations located at a point half way between adjacent contact points, combined with a plurality of short rods inserted one in each of such perforations and projecting substantially at right angles therefrom far enough to serve as anchors for any plastic filling set in the meshes of such grating and in which their free ends will be enclosed, none of said rods having contact with any of said strips other than the single one by which it is supported.

2. A grating such as defined in claim 1 inwhich said anchors are severally bent on themselves so as to prevent withdrawal from the particular perforations in which they have been inserted.

3. A grating such as defined in claim 1 which is composed of a plurality of parallel straight bars and intervening bent strips, and in which said anchor-receiving perforations are located in said straight bars.

4. A grating such as defined in claim 1 in which said anchor rods have their free ends bent upward to form hooks, combined with a plurality of longer rods resting in said hook shaped extremities in such positions that they will become embedded in such plastic filling to be set in the meshes of the grating.

5. A grating-reenforced concrete road comprising in combination a self-supporting grating composed of a plurality of flat metal strips all set on edge and rigidly fastened together at all points of contact one with another and certain of them having perforations located at a point half way between adjacent contact points, combined with a plurality of short rods inserted one in each of said perforations and each projecting substantially at right angles therefrom part way across the adjoining grating meshes and a filling of concrete set in said meshes in which said anchor-s are embedded, none of said rods having contact with any of said strips other than the single one by which it is supported.

6. A self-supporting grating for use as a reenforcement for a concrete mass which is composed of fiat strips, some being wider than others, and all rigidly fastened together at points of contact one with another, certain of said strips having perforations located between adjacent points of contact, together with short bent anchor rods hooked into said perforations and lying wholly between two planes in which the edges of said wider strips lie.

7. A self-supporting grating composed of parallel straight bars and intervening crimped strips of less depth all rigidly fastened together at points of contact one with another, with one set of edges in each such class of strips located in one and the same plane forming one surface of the grating, together with a pluraltiy of short anchor rods set in spaced-apart perforations in certain of said grating members located .at points halfway between adjacent fastenings thereof and having their free ends projecting only part Way across the spaces between said straight bars which are free from interposed portions of said narrower bent strips.

8. A reenforced concrete structure comprising a grating such as defined in claim '7 combined with a mass of set concrete filling the meshes thereof and completely enclosing said anchor rods.

. d 9. A reenforced concrete structure comprising a grating such as defined in claim 1 combined with a mass of set concrete filling the meshes thereof and completely enclosing said anchor rods, said anchor rods having free ends bent upwardly into hook shape with straight reenforcing bars held therein and extending lengthwise of the grating between pairs of adjacent straight bars; whereby an elongated, reenforced monolithic body of concrete is formed between each such pairs of straight as a unitary support for the smallersections of concrete projecting upwardly. from said body surface and encased in the grating meshes above it.

10. A grating such'as defined in claim 1 which is composed of a plurality of parallelstraight bars and intervening bent strips, and in which said anchor-receiving perforations are located in said bent strips.

WALTER E. IRVING.

bars and adapted. to serve c 

